If your health insurance plan was cancelled, or if your premiums jump more than normal, you shouldn't just blame President Obama and Congress. You should also blame the industries who lobbied to force you to buy insurance for their products. (Photo: Thinkstock)

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Monday criticized Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, for opposing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, likening his stance to resistance to other civil rights measures in the past.

“I noted and others here noted Speaker Boehner's comments with regret,” Carney told reporters. “His reasoning behind the position he took sounds familiar to the opposition to all, almost all civil rights measures that have come and been passed into law in this country over the years.”

“The opposition was wrong then and it is wrong now,” Carney added.

The White House is pressing Congress to pass the bill, which would establish new workplace protections for gay, lesbian and transgendered people. Supporters say it will help prevent people from being fired because of their sexual orientation. But critics of the bill say it could unfairly discriminate against some religious groups and could subject businesses to a new wave of costly lawsuits.

In an op-ed on the Huffington Post Monday, President Obama urged Republicans to rally behind the bill.

“Millions of LGBT Americans go to work every day fearing that, without any warning, they could lose their jobs -- not because of anything they've done, but simply because of who they are,” Obama wrote.

“It's offensive. It's wrong,” he added. “And it needs to stop, because in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense.”

The Senate could vote on the measure Monday, but it is unclear if it has 60-votes needed to move forward.